Renault Megane Renaultsport 250 Cup 3dr Car Review - March 2012

This Renaultsport 250 cup comes with a 2.0 litre unleaded 1998 cc engine which has an impressive top speed of 156mph and can reach 0-62 mph in just 6.1 seconds. The engine produces 250 bhp of power and 251 lb-ft of torque, resulting in strong performance on the road.

Refinement levels are high and even when driving the four cylinder engine hard it will produce less noise in comparison to others - although there is some wind and road noise present on the motorway. The gearshift is short and fluid but the clutch lets the side down by being a little awkward.

This model benefits from high quality sports seats, leather bound steering wheel, air conditioner, cruise control, MP3 connectivity, CD player, Bluetooth connectivity, satellite navigation system, electric door mirrors, electric front windows, metallic paint finish, stability control and climate control as standard.

This Cup comes with good range of standard sports seats to provide comfort along with the plenty of adjustment to help drivers find the perfect position.

Its decent dashboard is stylish and well-arranged with a yellow rev counter, unique steering wheel and aluminium pedal enhancing the look further.

Unfortunately a small back window means rear visibility is poor - something which is counteracted by the standard rear parking cameras which are fitted to the car.

The Megane comes with plenty of space in the front for those with long legs, but there is not much headroom available as compared to some rivals and the back seats are tight on legroom too. The boot offers 344 litres of space with the seats up and 991 litres with the seats folded down however and this makes it a good size and shape for the class of car.

All the models provide utmost safety measures and the Renalutsport ranks pretty high with airbags for drivers, passengers and in the front side of the car all fitted as standard. Central locking, stability control, rear parking sensors and an alarm are also fitted to safeguard the vehicle from any danger of accident or theft.

Although high-grade materials and a good standard of fit and finish is offered in this model there are still likely to be some concerns about reliability due to Renault's shaky reputation over this. Customer satisfaction surveys usually yield poor results for the manufacturer and even the three year, 100,000 mile warranty offered with this model may do little to allay these concerns.

Priced at £24,020 this car is far from cheap and although there is a good range of features on offer it's running costs are not the lowest - making it expensive to own.

CO2 emissions are 190 g/km, placing the Renaultsport 250 cup into road tax band J.

The Renaultsport 250 cup falls into insurance group 34.